Active potassium extrusion regulated by intracellular pH in Streptococcus faecalis.

Potassium extrusion in bacteria is thought to play a role in the regulation of the cytoplasmic pH; in several organisms, it has been ascribed to secondary antiport of K+ for protons. Streptococcus faecalis exhibited a distinctive pattern: potassium extrusion occurred only when the cytoplasmic pH was alkaline and required the generation of ATP. The key observation is that glycolyzing cells suspended in an alkaline medium extruded K+, even against a K+ concentration gradient, provided the medium contained a weak permeant base (e.g. diethanolamine or methylamine). The amines render the cytoplasmic pH alkaline; when conditions were arranged to keep the cytoplasm neutral, no K+ extrusion was seen. Potassium extrusion required the presence of either glucose or arginine and was unaffected by protonophores and by inhibition of the F1Fo-ATPase. When the medium contained [14C]methylamine, the cells accumulated the base to an extent stoichiometrically equivalent to the K+ lost. Concurrently, the cytoplasmic pH fell from 8.8 to 7.6, at which point K+ extrusion ceased. The results suggest that K+ extrusion is due to an ATP-driven transport system that expels K+ by exchange for H+ and is active only at alkaline cytoplasmic pH.